Posgame Quotes - Montreal Impact

“I’ll take the win. I think we played against a really good team. Their passing was good and they moved the ball pretty well. Playing our sixth game in the short period of time, I think the guys were a bit tired, but we have players who can change the game and they showed us in these last few games. I think that being down 1-0 with 20 minutes to go we showed character and these three points were very important for us.”

On being able to pull out results late in the game:

“I think we have been playing until the last minute. Like I said, we showed character, playing for the fans, for the club and for ourselves. I think everybody is working hard. You’re not going to be rewarded every time for the hard work, but the guys understand each other and it was just great.”

On the second half offensive action:

“We adjusted a bit in the second half with Chris Birchall going a little deeper allowing him to win the second ball. I think that made a little difference. We were able to keep possession a little more by cutting the entry passes to [Montreal’s] forwards.

Crew forward Emilio Renteria

On returning to score:

“First of all I’m very happy we won the match at the last minute. Even when someone doesn’t play often he has to be ready to come in and make a difference on the field with his teammates.”

On Federico Higuaín’s importance:

“Federico is a quality player. He’s a player that the Crew needed in the midfield. People like myself, [Jairo] Arrieta and all the forwards here, need a player like him who plays balls where they are needed, who is always ready to give assistance from the midfield. It’s almost inexplicable but he’s a great player who is able to feed you great balls.”

Crew captain Chad Marshall

On the team’s current form:

“I think we’re doing well. It’s been a tough stretch with a lot of games in a short amount of time, but guys are stepping up. I know guys are tired but we have that “Never say die” attitude and we’re somehow managing to get three points which is nice.”

On Federico Higuaan’s game-changing importance:

“It’s huge, he brings a lot of energy on the field and, as I’ve said before, he has that class and is capable of changing the game at any moment. You saw it tonight, two beautiful services, and we get out with three points.”

On his goal:

“Higuaín hit a good ball as I tried to get away from my man and link near post. I think I bulldozed over Justin [Meram] and I was able to get my head on [the ball] and it went over Perkins. It felt good.”

Montreal head coach Jesse Marsch

General thoughts on the loss:

“We played well tonight. We created a lot of chances. When we got the lead late, it felt like we had control of things, but then the game opened up and we were tired. We were tired. In the end, [Columbus] punished us. We let the game get way too open when it was 1-0 and then when it was 1-1. I would’ve like for us to keep things tighter at that moment, but it got away from us. It’s not going to slow us down. It’s one little bump in the road and we’re not slowing down.”

On the Impact’s fatigue:

“Again, it’s another game because of the heat and humidity that is tough to replicate, but our guys fought hard. It wasn’t for lack of not putting what they had into it. Again, we’re not going to let this phase us. I still felt like we came into a tough place and played well. In a lot of ways, we deserved a better result. We’ve been on a good run. I would still say that we’re not slowing down. We’re going to keep going. “

On the Crew’s effort in the second half:

“I felt like the first five minutes of the second half was going to determine the game. Luckily, Troy [Perkins] made two huge saves and kept us in it and allowed us to settle in a little bit. We get the goal, we even had some other chances. If we’re a little bit sharper around the goal tonight, maybe we can get a two goal lead or get an earlier lead and make it a two goal lead. In the end, we let it slip.”

Montreal midfielder Felipe Martins

Feelings on the loss:

“This hurts. It hurts because the last 10 minutes, we were up 1-0. We need to take this game and have more concentration. We sat back when we needed to win this game. When you make 1-0, you can’t lose this game because we want to make the playoffs. We need to be more smart and more concentrated to get three points.”

On losing in stoppage time:

“It happened at the start of the season. Now we have a break. We have two weeks to work hard and come back to make the playoffs.”

On the Impact’s playoff chances following the loss:

“We still believe. We have five games. We need to win five games. We need to work hard for the next game.”

Montreal goalkeeper Troy Perkins

General thoughts on the match:

“It doesn’t matter how well you play. Losing a game like that is tough. It’s a heartbreaker. It makes these last five games incredibly important. We can’t really take a breath now. We’ve got to come out firing on all cylinders for these last five matches.”

On his performance and the frustration of losing:

“You take what you can from [the loss] and build on it. It’s just one of those games, Columbus has come back in three straight games and won in the last five or 10 minutes of the game. We should have been expecting it and we should have done better with it.”

On the difference late in the match:

“I think there in the last 10-15 minutes there, we allowed them too much space in front of us. We weren’t pushing up, we turned the ball over in bad spots, and it was like a tennis match. They just cam running back at us. We’d win it and they’d come running back at us. We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be smarter.”